Instant Reaction: More of those, please!

Gut Reaction

Tanaka!

Masahiro had the special sauce mixed right tonight. He was on super extended rest. It was a night game and a Tuesday. Now, I personally don’t believe in any of that stuff, but the proof is in the pudding. He looked great tonight. I’ll take 7 innings with 3 runs every day. In a closer game, I think he would have been able to dig deep and keep it to 1 earned run, as well. He was throwing strikes, his pitches were diving, and he was inducing soft contact. Thanks, Tanaka!

Also, something to look for the next time he starts. The more often Tanaka takes off his hat the better he is feeling about himself. It’s a good confidence indicator.

Offense!

Boy, was it nice to have a laugher! We were facing subpar pitching and we did exactly what you’re supposed to do to subpar pitching. Gary got us started with a 493 foot home run! A bomb! And then another! Love that guy! Everyone got a hit except Chase Headley, who hit the ball hard three times with nothing to show for it. Five guys had multiple hit games. Best of all, both Aarons had productive nights. Judge with three walks and a RBI single. Hicks with a bomb of his own.

The Judge Streak Ends!

The Judge streak was the dumbest thing that mainstream media ever grabbed hold of. It was as meaningless and trivial as they come. Was he slumping and hitting terribly? Yes. Very much so. Does striking out 1 time in a game matter? No. Not at all.

In 2014 Trout struck out 184 times in 157 games. If they were spread out and he had 1 a game, a 157 game streak, he still would have won MVP https://t.co/bAoZ8XPlaJ

All the reasons presented themselves to Joe though. We were up big. Judge had 4 at-bats, and the last one was a RBI single. Why not pull him and shut the media up? You know if he struck out in his 5th at bat it would be brought up in the postgame. Spoken in a whisper… “Aaron, you had a good game today, 3 walks and a single does it bother you that the strike out streak continued and will be a story?” Ahhhh! Shut up! Joe did just that by pulling him. I’m fine with the move.